This was an interesting one for me. I thought about a "colony" ship. Someone has to be there. As much as there might be Ai to, someone has to be there...aware. If you're sailing through space and the destination is light years away...it just feels like someone should be there.
He remembered the "coming out of stasis" — remembered they said it was…like being born again. He never forgot that, or that they were all gone now. He was the last living astronaut. He had to admit though, he’d lived a pretty good life. A long one. They said a man lived longer. He couldn’t remember a lot about the before time — still had dreams about it though…him, a child, wading through a stream…and he was going back.
I shake my head and swallow hard. When the screaming dies off and the shuttle shifts to a dull roar, I resume my tirade as my body slams into my seat. The rest of the crew is silent, focused on remaining calm.
It’s all expected. At least most of it is.
Everything but what is most important to me.
“How does this even happen? I became an astronaut to drink Tang in space. But we’re out?”
“Mum!” her gangly teenager shouted as he blundered through the door his limbs still getting used to their increase in length, his body still getting used to its shape. “Mum! Mr Cash said I'm going to be an astronaut. And Rory agrees.”
“Mr Cash? Your science teacher? That's brilliant. Tell me more.”
“They both said with scores like that I was definitely a space cadet. Isn't that awesome, Mum?”
The astronaut had looked high and low trying to discover what was making a whistling sound. It was to no avail. He checked all his monitors which said everything was fine.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
“All our monitors indicate everything is fine. What is the problem?”
“There is an odd whistling sound.”
“We are not hearing it on our end. We will run more tests.”
Jake the poltergeist smiled. Being forced to fly solo was not a good idea.
I’m unmoored from the world, drifting in infinite black. Out here, the universe speaks to me—or more precisely, flows in hushed tones. A speck of blue and green below. What turns upon its surface? Once familiar coffee shops, parks, and sun kissed beaches beneath one’s feet. Memories arise in my mind before the presence of this great orb.
Pressing my face against my helmet before disappears from view.
Disconnection isn’t emptiness in the outer layers of existence; it is clarity.
They found him. A miner in the Oort Cloud detected a small, highly metallic object. Imagine her surprise when she pulled it into her hold.
The capsule was pitted, surface crazed by collisions with the occasional interstellar dust particle. A faded symbol of a long-gone nation adorned the surface. Efficient robots cut the vacuum welded hatch open.
Inside, on a primitive acceleration couch, was the preserved body of an ancient astronaut. Records were checked.
Michael closed his eyes to remember yesterday. He recalled glow-in-the-dark stars, the moon lamp with its warm glow, and the bedspread, blue with stars and a single astronaut tucked under the sleeping boy's chin as his mouth twitched in a dream. Michael noticed a smudge of dirt over one eye, wondering how he missed that at bathtime.
A tear escaped Michael's eye and splashed onto the cold metal frame of this bed. The machines beeped. There were no astronauts here.
It was the early days. U.S. Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts, constantly trained for the long race ahead.
This Sputnik flight, led by two celebrated Cosmonauts, carried with them mice, rats, rabbits and flies to test zero gravity stress on organisms. The risk had been staggering, success unlikely.
Strelka and Belka shared a glance. The hatch opened. They had made it. Made history, just surviving. 17 revolutions, 27 orbit hours. Struggling against harness straps in anticipation, they barked their excitement.
“I was the first Astronaut” proclaimed the old gentleman in front of an enthusiastic audience. His story, told so expertly and detailed it would be difficult for those to dispute it. Holding up a moon rock swearing it was so, that he indeed had been to the moon. He received generous applause by patients of the Memory Care Unit. Helped to his room by Nurse Stacy, she smiled, adding “Gotta hand it to you Jules, You tell a good story!”
I normally end on a humorous note, but this one was a bit sad, for sure. He was looking forward to playing on the Moon! I've done quite a few things from the perspective of animals, and it's always interesting to wonder what they might be thinking... 😎
That would be fun! Dogs having adventures in space would be a great story. Although this was, of course, based on what really happened. When they were first testing space flight, many dogs became 'astronauts', and lots of them came back. And the concept here, in addition to the main twist, was imagining what one of those dogs might have thought about being up there... 😎
There's a great cult movie called 'Dogs in Space'. It's quite alternative and punky in a way and stars Michael Hutchence. Australian, I believe. Great soundtrack if I remember correctly.
Clip In (80mg)
Three young men living their dreams.
Day in, day out, training every detail into their sub-conscious.
Train like it’s for real, they demanded. Zip, inflate, clip in.
Damn it, Colin, stop messing. Space walks are serious business. Zip, inflate, and for gods sake, clip in.
Six months of childish pranks and “damn it, Colin”.
But here they are ready to walk, Earth a majestic orb in widescreen.
“Have you clipped in, Colin?”
“Shit, sorry guys … to infinity and beyond”.
This was an interesting one for me. I thought about a "colony" ship. Someone has to be there. As much as there might be Ai to, someone has to be there...aware. If you're sailing through space and the destination is light years away...it just feels like someone should be there.
He remembered the "coming out of stasis" — remembered they said it was…like being born again. He never forgot that, or that they were all gone now. He was the last living astronaut. He had to admit though, he’d lived a pretty good life. A long one. They said a man lived longer. He couldn’t remember a lot about the before time — still had dreams about it though…him, a child, wading through a stream…and he was going back.
“Are you kidding me?”
I shake my head and swallow hard. When the screaming dies off and the shuttle shifts to a dull roar, I resume my tirade as my body slams into my seat. The rest of the crew is silent, focused on remaining calm.
It’s all expected. At least most of it is.
Everything but what is most important to me.
“How does this even happen? I became an astronaut to drink Tang in space. But we’re out?”
Such a tearjerker. Nice prompt and a beautiful micro story Miguel. I'm going to have think some fun stories for this one.
Astronaut 80mg
“Mum!” her gangly teenager shouted as he blundered through the door his limbs still getting used to their increase in length, his body still getting used to its shape. “Mum! Mr Cash said I'm going to be an astronaut. And Rory agrees.”
“Mr Cash? Your science teacher? That's brilliant. Tell me more.”
“They both said with scores like that I was definitely a space cadet. Isn't that awesome, Mum?”
She reached over and gave him a hug.
Aw, that's sweet.
Microfiction - 80mg of an Astronaut
===
‘I can pick anything, Miss?’
“Yes, and write down the reason.”
So, Cindy started writing about her dream, as assigned by their teacher.
They had to share what they wrote about, and finally, it was her turn.
‘I want to be an astronaut.’
She heard a few chuckles, but her teacher shushed them immediately.
‘Then I can be in the zero-gravity space, and I can move freely.’
She then put her paper on her lap, looking down at her wheelchair.
Damn. That made me audibly gasp. BEAUTIFUL work Olivia!
Thank you Miguel!
Aw once again a lovely piece. I love what you write, Olivia
Thank you for reading Diane :)
The astronaut had looked high and low trying to discover what was making a whistling sound. It was to no avail. He checked all his monitors which said everything was fine.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
“All our monitors indicate everything is fine. What is the problem?”
“There is an odd whistling sound.”
“We are not hearing it on our end. We will run more tests.”
Jake the poltergeist smiled. Being forced to fly solo was not a good idea.
Lol. A ghost IN a space ship sounds like a genius premise! I love the idea.
Astronaut - 80mg
I’m unmoored from the world, drifting in infinite black. Out here, the universe speaks to me—or more precisely, flows in hushed tones. A speck of blue and green below. What turns upon its surface? Once familiar coffee shops, parks, and sun kissed beaches beneath one’s feet. Memories arise in my mind before the presence of this great orb.
Pressing my face against my helmet before disappears from view.
Disconnection isn’t emptiness in the outer layers of existence; it is clarity.
Astronaut - 80 mg
They found him. A miner in the Oort Cloud detected a small, highly metallic object. Imagine her surprise when she pulled it into her hold.
The capsule was pitted, surface crazed by collisions with the occasional interstellar dust particle. A faded symbol of a long-gone nation adorned the surface. Efficient robots cut the vacuum welded hatch open.
Inside, on a primitive acceleration couch, was the preserved body of an ancient astronaut. Records were checked.
Major Tom was finally coming home.
Ahh, brilliant! He's still sitting in his tin can, far above the world. Haha... 😎
Michael closed his eyes to remember yesterday. He recalled glow-in-the-dark stars, the moon lamp with its warm glow, and the bedspread, blue with stars and a single astronaut tucked under the sleeping boy's chin as his mouth twitched in a dream. Michael noticed a smudge of dirt over one eye, wondering how he missed that at bathtime.
A tear escaped Michael's eye and splashed onto the cold metal frame of this bed. The machines beeped. There were no astronauts here.
ASTRONAUT (80)
Through this tiny window
I feel my beating heart
Gaia
Mother Earth
Pale Blue Dot
Shining glorious among the stars
Take me there
Out of the blackness of space
And the whiteness of this cold machine
The only place in the universe
Where I can breathe and stand
Can you hear me
Come in
Silence
Am I alone here
A human voice
My favorite sound
Thank God
Is He here now
Mission control counting down
Five
Four
Three
Two
Home
Prompt: Astronaut / Word count 80
It was the early days. U.S. Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts, constantly trained for the long race ahead.
This Sputnik flight, led by two celebrated Cosmonauts, carried with them mice, rats, rabbits and flies to test zero gravity stress on organisms. The risk had been staggering, success unlikely.
Strelka and Belka shared a glance. The hatch opened. They had made it. Made history, just surviving. 17 revolutions, 27 orbit hours. Struggling against harness straps in anticipation, they barked their excitement.
The joys of being an astronaut, flying and soaring free,
But I can't be an astronaut, I know it cannot be.
My fingers dig deep within the soil,
My mind's created for earthly toil.
If you declare that I must fly,
I must reply that I must hie,
Towards the fields of earth,
Returning to green lands of my birth.
"Just try it out, it's so much fun," my friends all say,
But I never could, with feet of clay.
80mg of an Astronaut
---
The nanobots did their work well.
Motherprobe guides, and watches.
Slice through the skin of the ISS.
And seek.
Sleep time for the humans.
There is one. The American.
Slice through cranium. Incision.
Cerebellum. Hypothalamus. Grey matter white matter. Amygdala.
Cortex.
Brainstem.
DNA samples returned to Mother.
She weighs them. Chirrups satisfaction.
80mg of an Astronaut.
Soon, she will slip back through the portal to Procyon.
The cloning facility will be pleased.
The invasion, it seems, can proceed as scheduled…
Lovely take!
That's clever
80 Mg of Astronaut
“I was the first Astronaut” proclaimed the old gentleman in front of an enthusiastic audience. His story, told so expertly and detailed it would be difficult for those to dispute it. Holding up a moon rock swearing it was so, that he indeed had been to the moon. He received generous applause by patients of the Memory Care Unit. Helped to his room by Nurse Stacy, she smiled, adding “Gotta hand it to you Jules, You tell a good story!”
Great punch line, dint see that one coming
PROMPT: ASTRONAUT
THE MOON
He was flying towards the Moon.
Basking in its glow, as it loomed large and grew bigger in front of his eyes the closer he got to it.
Soon, he would be on the surface, jumping around and leaving his prints behind.
It was going to be magical.
Until, they made an announcement that he’d done well and it was time to come home, and the space rocket started turning around.
And he was left barking mournfully out the window, as the Moon faded away into the distance behind him… 🐶😎🐶
Why oh why such a sad ending? Almost reads like a lesbian tragic story from before the mid 1990s
I normally end on a humorous note, but this one was a bit sad, for sure. He was looking forward to playing on the Moon! I've done quite a few things from the perspective of animals, and it's always interesting to wonder what they might be thinking... 😎
Oh yes he was, and you deprived him of that. Maybe one day you can sent him up there for real.
That would be fun! Dogs having adventures in space would be a great story. Although this was, of course, based on what really happened. When they were first testing space flight, many dogs became 'astronauts', and lots of them came back. And the concept here, in addition to the main twist, was imagining what one of those dogs might have thought about being up there... 😎
There's a great cult movie called 'Dogs in Space'. It's quite alternative and punky in a way and stars Michael Hutchence. Australian, I believe. Great soundtrack if I remember correctly.
Yes! It's a great snapshot of the Australian music scene. Michael Hutchence performs a lot of the songs on the soundtrack, too... 😎